"The TSU must have misunderstood the vice premier as the entrepreneur-turned-politician has commanded widespread respect for his performance," Yen said.
During the power transition, Chen once commented that if Lin were a female, he would have picked him as his vice-presidential candidate. Similarly, Premier Yu said he trusted his deputy's professional competence.
But the TSU says it is mulling mounting a no-confidence vote against Lin if he fails to come up with a judicious set of regulations to oversee cross-strait trade. Lin, who concurrently heads the Council of Economic Planning and Development, is an architect of the opening policy.
Hsu Den-koun (許登宮), another TSU legislative whip, said emphatically it is impossible for his party to back down on the issue.
"It is more important for the party to safeguard the interests of Taiwan than keep the partnership with the DPP," Hsu said. "The TSU is not a subsidiary of another political part after all."
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